TruStride™

TruStride™ is a premium dust-free footing, revered in the equestrian community for its ability to eliminate watering, and maintenance, as well as providing traction, stability and support for diverse riding disciplines.

LiteStride™

LiteStride™ is an economical dust-free arena footing that eliminates the need for watering, reduces maintenance requirements, and provides a supportive, responsive riding surface for both horse and rider.

Equi-Blend™

SuperStall™

SuperStall™ is a one-piece foam mattress system. It is the market’s softest and most durable stall system. SuperStall™ uses a proven foam cushion that has been used under animals in Europe for over 12 years.

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LiteStride™ Horse Arena Footing

An economical dust-free footing that provides superior support and responsiveness for horse and rider and eliminates the need for watering while also reducing maintenance.

“…the footing is wonderful. I love how quiet it sounds as the horses are going around. It feels so good not only to them but to me as I walk around and teach.”

Indoor Arena | Branchville, NJ | LiteStride

“I still love it.”

LiteStride | CC | Vermont

“I love our footing. Our horses love it! (The old guys are acting years younger with a nice spring to their step.) Our volunteers like it as well. They feel the difference. There is absolutely no odor (something I was very concerned about). In the spring we hope you will help us with our outdoor arena.”

Laura Corsun, High & Mighty Therapeutic Equestrian Center, Ghent, NY

"The footing is so good for the horses, not being deep, it does not stress them. We don't have to condition the horses between the arenas – because all the footing is consistent. Horses are not tired. There have been no injuries. Horses move great on the footing."

Staff at Johnson and Wales University - Rehoboth, MA

"When you told us what the footing would do, we were skeptical and thought the footing was a bit pricey. But after all these months, we love the footing and it is well worth the investment."

LiteStride™ Dust-Free Horse Arena Footing has been the more economical version of dust-free footing since 2003, and continues to offer horses and riders one of the best arena surfaces in the world for competing and training. LiteStride™ is being used for a wide variety of disciplines including Dressage and flat work, low-level Hunter/Jumper, therapeutic riding, and small training and clinic barns. This footing offers up-and-coming riders a chance to experience the benefits of a dust-free arena as well as excellent traction and stability, yet is ideal for budget-conscious barns. LiteStride™ can be used both in indoor arenas and outdoor arenas!

LiteStride™ is a dust-free horse arena footing that uses a mixture of pure silica sand, a select blend of synthetic fibers, and a specialized wax coating. This combination of components produces a stable yet supportive footing for horse and rider. The fiber and wax combine to reduce the amount tracking by creating a web-like lattice that is both cushioned and resilient. LiteStride™ is not as stable as the TruStride™ footing, and requires more grooming to maintain optimum conditions. Although LiteStride™ still requires some grooming compared to TruStride™, the footing is a significant improvement over any traditional arena footing for traction and reduced grooming. Customers are amazed to see how responsive and supportive LiteStride™ is, discover that this dust-free arena footing is a step above the rest.

The wax is a key component to LiteStride™ to make a completely dust-free footing that is also low maintenance. There is no need to water the arena, ever. Moreover, our arena footing is very hydrophobic meaning the majority of rain and other liquids sheet off the surface or wick immediately through the footing making LiteStride™ ready for riding and training immediately after rain events in your outdoor arenas. Creating a dust-free environment can have significant benefits for the lungs of both horse and rider,producing better conditions for riding and training. Overall, our waxed LiteStride™ footing offers you more riding time, better riding conditions, and an extended season for training.

The LiteStride™, like our TruStride™, footing can be used in both indoor arenas and outdoorarenas and it has excelled in cold weather temperature swings. The depth usually recommended for riding disciplines such as Western/Pleasure and Dressage, is 3 ½ inches. For those riders performing higher jumps or managing a busy barn, we would encourage you to consider the TruStride™ material as it will pay off in added stability and performance as well as lower maintenance costs.

If you would like to see exactly how our footing is installed, visit our YouTube page for our Installation Video.

Training and Increased Performance

Horses can train harder and longer on LiteStride™ because the footing works with the horse, not against it. Springing off the surface rather than struggling through it allows for proper and more efficient movement. LiteStride™ is a forgiving surface that minimizes the chance of injury. Less injuries keeps training sessions consistent and cuts down on expensive rehabilitation bills.

When a horse trains on LiteStride™ or any of IGK’s footings, they build up a lot of confidence, which leads to better, more effective training and riding sessions. The consistent surface responds to the horse, providing them with uniform traction during difficult movements allowing them to feel confident in taking that next step. The consistency of the footing keeps them from stumbling, and the trainer will see faster improvements because the horse is focused on the training rather than where to place a foot.

Economics and Maintenance

One of the biggest advantages of LiteStride™ arena footing is that fact that is doesn’t need to be watered, ever. The footing is completely coated in a wax product that keeps all the footing components in place. Eliminating water use saves money, and especially saves time that can now be invested in riding and training. The wax does not break down, thus creating a perpetual dust-free surface. Eleven years and we have yet to recoat an arena!

LiteStride™ arena footing is one of the economical way to upgrade your horse arena to being dust-free. Balancing budget and performance, LiteStride™ provides many of the benefits of TruStride™ at the right price.

Even though LiteStride™ arena footing is not as stable as our premium product, TruStride™, it is a significant improvement over traditional footing by reducing the amount of maintenance and grooming needed in the arena. Most of our customers are surprised at how easy LiteStride™ is to maintain. Since the footing reduces the amount of tracking and minimizes compaction. We recommend a regular, light grooming once every two weeks to twice a month.

In addition to grooming less, the type of groomer is much smaller, less aggressive, and costs a lot less than traditional grooming drags. Check out our media tab for pictures on the types of groomers we recommend.

All-Weather Design

LiteStride™ is virtually weatherproof and used for both indoor arenas and outdoor arenas. The wax coating makes the footing essentially waterproof, causing water to run off the surface or quickly wick out of the footing to the base leaving the footing ready for riding.

Before any maintenance is done, make sure your arena’s footing is at an equal depth across the arena. One quick way to check depth is to take a small potting trowel or ruler, and mark it from 1″ to 4″ and walk around your arena, randomly checking the depth in different places. Note low and high areas, and groom the footing from high to low.

PARMA Arena Groomers

We have had many customers use the PARMA Groomer for their IGK Equestrian arena footing. The PARMA will need the tine conversion kit in order to replace the more aggressive spring tines that is normally equipped. Once these are adjusted, your arena base should be well protected. With the new types of footing, the harrows work on only the top inch to two inches of footing. You should avoid an aggressive harrow.

Harrowing

If you decide to use a harrow in your arena, be sure to harrow in different directions each time you groom. Also alternate harrowing diagonally to prevent shifting the footing to the outside rail.

Take care not to harrow the same way, as that will gradually move even the most sturdy, stable footing.

When you harrow the footing, make sure you are not digging too deep and touching the base.

Manure

You MUST pick up any manure in your arena. If manure is left in the footing it can break down and not only release airborne bacteria but can also break down and cause dust in your arena.

Lunging

Lunging is the worst thing for any footing, and TruStride™/LiteStride™/5K Ranch™ are no exception. The horses will tend to move the footing so much because of the repetitive exercise, the base will be exposed and compromise the base and the footing. When lunging on IGK Equestrian footing, we suggest to continually move around the arena as you lunge so that you do not wear down into the base. If at all possible, lunge in another arena or round pen. This is a serious rule to enforce in order to preserve your footing.

For a great all-around guide on how to build your arena from start to finish, check out Ultimatearenaguide.com!

Q: How often should I groom my arena?

How often you groom depends on what type of arena footing you purchased from IGK Equestrian. We recommend that TruStride™ and LiteStride™ be groomed once or twice a month, while 5K Ranch™ should be groomed based on use, but around once a week.

Q: Why types of equipment do I need to maintain my arena?

IGK Equestrian is a dealer of PARMA Coil Tine Groomers. These groomers are small, less aggressive and cost a lot less than traditional grooming drags. If you already have a groomer and would like to know if it would work well with our surfaces please feel free to give us a call!

Q: Do I need to water my arena?

NEVER! The special footing mixture is coated with a wax component that will eliminate dust and the time and labor spent on trying to keep dust at bay.

Q: How do I keep my horse arena dust-free?

All of IGK’s arena footings are naturally dust free. You will not have to water the surface or do any special maintenance to ensure that it stays dust free. The only way to make sure that your arena stays dust free is to NEVER mix any other footing in with your IGK Equestrian footing. It will disrupt the natural mixture and will create dust.

Q: How deep do I need to groom my arena?

The footing can be groomed at different depths based on what type of discipline is being performed in the arena. We do not recommend that you go any deeper than an inch into the footing when it comes to grooming. If you would like specifics on our recommendations to grooming depth based on discipline, please feel free to contact us.

Q: How long should my dust-free surface last?

IGK Equestrian prides itself on the fact that we haven’t had a single customer ever have to replace their footing. Our Footing is a very stable product. The components will last for many years with proper maintenance. After years of heavy use it may need to be replenished with the key components. It does not breakdown or become toxic in any way.

Q: What type of base should my dust free surface have?

The base of the footing is the most important part. We cannot put our footing over your old footing. The best base that works with our footing is a very fine limestone at least 2-3 inches deep.

Q: Can I put the footing over old material?

Unfortunately no, your old footing will have to be removed leaving only the laser leveled stone dust base. We cannot put our footing over old footing because it will mix and contaminate the formulated blend of materials that keeps your horse arena dust free.

Q: Can I put the area footing in an outdoor arena?

Of course! TruStride™ and LiteStride™ are the best option for your outdoor arena. Our customers have had heavy rains of over an inch of rain and could immediately ride after the storm. 80% of the water sheds off of the surface. TruStride™ and LiteStride™ are truly all weather arena surfaces.

Q: Does the footing freeze in cold temperatures?

IGK Equestrian footing does not need to be watered and as long as your outdoor arena does not have any water standing on it and has proper drainage, it will not freeze. Proper drainage and base construction keep paired with IGK Equestrian arena surfaces keeps your riding longer and colder!

Q: What is the difference between TruStride™ and LiteStride™?

TruStride™ is our premium footing. It is mixture of pure silica sand, and a combination of synthetic fibers, shoe sole rubber granules and a specialized wax that creates the perfect grip for disciplines such as jumping, Western/Pleasure and Dressage. LiteStride™ is similar to TruStride™ in that it is made up of pure silica sand, a blend of synthetic fibers and a lower percentage of the specialized wax coating to keep it dust free. We normally recommend LiteStride™ for disciplines such as lower jumping, Western/Pleasure and Dressage.

Q: What is the best arena footing for reigning?

As you know, reining is a western riding discipline where the horses have to do patterns of circles, spins and stops. The footing for this discipline needs to be able to move with the horse and not have too much traction. For this reason we recommend our 5K Ranch™ footing. 5K Ranch™ is a combination of pure silica sand and wax. The wax helps to keep the arena dust free, yet gives you the loose top layer that you need to compete or train for reigning or barrel racing.

Q: What is the best footing for commercial facilities?

Commercial facilities have a lot of riders training in all types of disciplines. For this reason we recommend that commercial facilities install our premium TruStride™ footing to be able to accommodate such diverse training and the number of horses on the footing daily.

Q: Why choose IGK Equestrian?

IGK Equestrian LLC benefits from the 25 years of experience of its parent company, North Brook Farms, Inc., that has been marketing and manufacturing cow and equine comfort products since 1989. We started selling horse footing in 2004 and now have hundreds of happy customers all over the country. Check out our global customer map! We love to take trips out to visit our customers and see how much they enjoy their dust free footing.

Q: Are there any health risks associated with synthetic footing?

Not at all! Customers also worry that horses will try to ingest the footing but we have never had any horses try to eat it. If they were to ingest it for some reason there would be no health risks, everything is inert and there is nothing in it that will harm the horse.

Q: Should horses be turned out in an indoor or outdoor?

We do not recommend that horses be turned out in the arena footing. Manure and urine needs to be removed immediately after training or riding. Manure is a fragile compound that can release particles into the air and therefore create dust in your arena.

Q: Do I need a drainage system?

Yes you do need a proper drainage system. Indoor and outdoor arenas should have the proper base with drainage and be assessed by a laser level. See our sub-base construction diagram here.

Q: Can it be rolled?

The footing should be rolled with a 5 ton roller during installation and then can be rolled at any desired time with a day to day small roller.

Q: Will the wax melt or need replenishing?

Our wax based synthetic footings are permanent dust free solution. The footing is not currently sold into arid climates where air temperatures reach consistently above 100 F. We would like to chat with you to see if your climate is the right climate for our horse footing to be located.

Q: How much depth do I need for my arena footing?

The depth of the footing depends on what disciplines you are doing on the footing. For training race horses we recommend 6 inches, for Grand Prix-style jumping we recommend 5 inches, for Western/Pleasure and Dressage we recommend 3.5-4 inches. See our depth chart by discipline here.

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This is a Limited Warranty. This Warranty is being offered by the Manufacturer of the Arena Footing being installed by the Owner for the Project, in accordance with the Contract Agreement between the Owner and the Manufacturer dated ______________. This Warranty shall become effective on the date the dust free Footing (Footing) has been delivered in full per “Contract,” to the Owner’s job site. This Warranty does not cover the consequences upon the Work of latent conditions in the structures or the site that exist at the time of the execution of this Agreement. All Warranty claims must be made to the Manufacturer in writing within the Warranty period.

The Manufacturer warrants to Owner that the Footing to be supplied under this Agreement shall be free from defects in materials for 30 days. Notification of defects must be made to the Manufacturer during this 30-day period. The Manufacturer warrants to Owner that the Footing to be supplied will remain dust-free, non-watering for a period of five (5) Years from the effective date of the Warranty period. During the Warranty period any defects in the dust-free footing material installed in the arena shall be remedied by repair or replacement. Manufacturer shall furnish all labor and materials required for such repair or replacement, all at Manufacturer’s expense. The means and methods used by Manufacturer in effecting such repair or replacement shall be at Manufacturer’s sole discretion.

Manufacturer shall not be responsible for any secondary or consequential damage caused by the defect(s). No steps taken by the Manufacturer to correct defects shall act to extend the Warranty period beyond the initial term of 30 days for materials and five (5) years for remaining dust-free with respect to defects appearing after these respective periods of time. Failure by the Owner to pay when due any outstanding balance to the Manufacturer shall be grounds for deferring Warranty work until such outstanding balance is paid in full. The Warranty period shall not be tolled by such delay.

The Manufacturer warrants optimum footing performance is experienced between ambient temperatures of 10 degrees and 90 degrees. Temperatures outside this range will result in altered performance characteristics. The manufacturer does not warrant optimum performance in these situations. Riding on the footing will be at the discretion and responsibility of the Owner.

Any Footing installed at less than Manufacturer’s recommended depth, will void all Warranties.

This Warranty expressly excludes deepness, hardness or other problems associated with improper maintenance, any damage occasioned by misuse such as free lunging, turnout, accident, or contamination from horse manure and/or the introduction of foreign materials of any kind whatsoever, including but not limited to, materials used in the arena base or sub base. If it is determined that a Warranty claim and Manufacturer site visit was occasioned by any of the items expressly excluded above, the Owner, agrees to reimburse the Manufacturer for all expenses associated with the visit.

This Warranty is extended only to the Owner, and is not transferable except to an entity.